Bengaluru: A suspected case of child marriage reported from Roopena Agrahara in southeast Bengaluru Thursday turned out to be a misunderstanding arising from an argument between a man and his minor daughter’s boyfriend.Acting on an alert to the police control room, a Hoysala patrol team reached the house within about 10 minutes but found no marriage ceremony under way. The parents of a 17-year-old girl and her boyfriend were present at the spot.
The girl’s parents sought police intervention to counsel her. “Please come and advise my daughter; she wants to marry this man, who is a high school dropout. My daughter is still a student and has to study,” they told the police.Police told the family that the alert had been received as a child marriage complaint. The house owner then explained that he had called the control room. “I heard him (the girl’s father) shouting at the boy to tie the nuptial knot and marry his daughter at once. Fearing I would be in legal trouble if the child marriage happened at my house, I called the police,” he said.The girl’s father later clarified the incident, saying he opposed the relationship. “I knew about the love affair between my daughter and this boy; I am opposed to it. Today, the house owner called me, saying the boy was in my house and my daughter was alone. So I rushed home and shouted at him, saying if he could walk into my home, nothing could stop him from tying the nuptial knot. Hearing the last lines, the owner called the police,” he said.The father declined to lodge a complaint. Police said the boy was cautioned about legal consequences. “We warned the boy that he could be booked under the Pocso Act if he makes any mistakes,” the police said.
